BY THE SPIRIT AND lion by sin, without which they know nothing of them- selves unto any purpose, let them prayfor that directing light of the Spirit of God; without which they can never attain to any useful knowledge of it. 2. Those who would indeed be purged from the pol- lution of sin, must endeavour to be affected with it suit- ably to the discovery which theyhave made of it. And as the proper effect of the guilt of sin is fear, so the pro- per effect of the filth of sin is shame. No man who hath read the scriptures, can be ignorant how frequently God calls on men lb be ashamed and confounded in themselves for the pollutions and uncleannesses of their sin. So is it expressed in answer unto what he requires. O mg God, I am ashamed, and blush to lift sip my face to thee, my God, because of our iniquities, Ezra ix. 6. And by another prophet, We lie down in our shame, andour confusioncorereth us, for we have sinned against the Lord our God, Jer. iii. 25. And rnany other such expressions are there of this affection of the mind with respect unto the pollution ofsin. But wemust observe, that there is a twofold shame with respect onto it: (I.) That which is legal, or the product of a mere legal con- viction of sir,. Such was that in Adam immediately af- ter his fall. And such is that which God so frequently calls open and profligate sinnersunto; a shame accom- panied with dread and terror, and from which the sin- ner bath no relief unless in such sorry evasions as our first parents made use of. And, (2.) 'l'here is a shame which is evangelical, arising from a mixed apprehension of the vileness of sin, and the riches of God's grace in the pardon and purifying of it. For, although this lat- ter gives relief against all terrifying discouraging effects of shame, yet it increaserh those which tend to genuine self-abasement and abhorrency. And this God still re- quires-to abide in us, as that which tends to the ad- vancement of his grace in our hearts This is fully ex- pressed by the prophet, Pzck. xvi. 60, 61, 62, 63. 1, I will remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an everlast- es ing covenant; then shalt thou remember thy wars, and be ashamed; and I will establish my covenant ea with thee, and thou shalt know that I am the Lord, that thou mayest remember and be confounded, and r' never open thy mouth any more, because of thy sr shame, when I am pacified toward thee for aí'í that et thou hast done, eaith the Lord . God." There is a ,3 X BLOOD. OP CIiRIST. 267 shame and confusion of face for sin, that is a consequent, yea, an effect of God's renewing his covenant, and thereby giving in the full pardon of sin, as being paci- fied. And the apostle asks the ßomans, what fail they had in those things whereof they mere now ashamed? chap. ,vi. 21. Now, after the pardon of them, they were yet ashamed, from the consideration of their filth and vileness. But it is shame in the first sense that I here intend, as antecedent unto the first purification of our natures. This may be thought to be in all men; but it is plainly otherwise, and men are not at all ashamed of their sins, which they manifest in various degrees. For, Sect. 12. (1.) Many are senseless and stupid; no in- struction, nothing that befalls them, will fix any real shame upon them. Of some particular facts they may be ashamed, but for any thing in their natures they slight and despise it. If they can but preserve them-. selves from the known guilt of such sins as are punish- able amongst men, as to all other things they are se- cure. This is the condition of the generality of men living in sin in this world. They have no inward shame for any thingbetween God and their souls, especially not for the pravity and defilement of their natures, no, although they hear the doctrine of it neverso frequently. What may outwardly befall them that is shameful they are concerned in; but for their internal pollutions be- tween God and their souls they know none. (2.) Some have a boldness and confidence in their condition as that which is well and pore enough. There is a generation that is pure in their own eyes, yetare they not washed from their filthiness, Prov. xxx. 12. Al- ihongh they were never sprinkled with the pure water of the covenant, or cleansed by the hloly Spirit; al- though their consciences were never purged from dead works by the blood of Christ, nor their hearts purified by faith, and so are no may washed from their filthi- ness; yet do they please themselves in their condition, as pure in their own eyes, and have not tire least sense of any defilement. Such a generation were the Phari- sees of old, wino esteemed themselves as clean as their hands and cups that they were continually washing, thdugh within they were filled with all manner of defile- ments, Isa. lxv. A, 5. And this generation is such as indeed despise all that is spoken about the pollution pf sin and its purification, and deride it as enthusiastical, or a fulsome metaphor not to be understood. 28
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